These headlights don’t just light up the dark—they help make these cars instantly recognizable…

Automakers often describe cars in anthropomorphic terms like “muscular” and “seductive,” and no part of the car receives this treatment more often than its “face.” By that logic, and if the eyes are the window to the soul, a car’s headlights are one of the most important and recognizable design features on a car’s front end—particularly at night. There have been plenty of innovations in headlight design and function over the decades as technology has improved, running the gamut from pop-up and hideaway headlights in classic cars to the vast and varied range of smart LED headlight configurations we see today. So while automakers are busy at work creating the technology and designs that will light the way of the future, let’s take a look at 10 of the most iconic and attention-grabbing headlights we’ve seen in contemporary luxury cars.